Milk can hoist with friction brake



Oct. 6, 1953 J, J VODA 2,654,570

MILK CAN HOIST WITH FRICTION BRAKE Filed March 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 6, 1953 Y VODA 2,654,570

MI LK CAN HOIST WITH FRICTION BRAKE Filed March 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Eu 0. @222; Q

Patented Oct. 6, 1953 ILK CA 1W H'F IQT NFBBEKE .J 01111 J.- Y da, Evansville, Ind-,a signor-to internat ona Hewe New J erso ens a preparat on o Application-March29, 1952, SerialiNo.-2-79;320 fifilaims- (entir 6a) This invention relates to thoisting devices but is more particularly directed to a hand-operated hoist which is suitable for lifting or otherwise raising such articles .as milk cansand like equip.- ment generallyutilized around .a dairy farm.

.One of the .most fatiguing tasks .of the dairy farmer involves the lifting and movement from place to place of the filled transport-type cans so generally used for transporting milk. Heretofore, many devices have been provided to facilitate the operations incident to the loading and movement of such cans, but such conventional devicesas have/been proposed were generally .too heavy, unwieldly and were not otherwise highly suitable for general .farm use. It is the principal object of this invention, therefore, to provid .a relatively light weight, hand-operated hoist which is comparatively inexpensive to manufac- .ture and .simple to operate. It is a further important object to provide a hoist equipped with a slip-.clutchstype release mechanism which is operable by the operator for lowering the load as desired. Another object includes the provision of a friction engaging mechanism disposed between an integrally fashioned winding reel and hand sheave assembly and a ratchet gear held thereag-ainst by axially disposed resilient means.

Other objects and advantages will be understood and will become more apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the .accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. -1 is a front elevation, partially in section, of an improved .hand hoist depicted as being suspended from an overhead track.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the improved hoist.

Fig. 3 is a partial section, in enlarged dimension, taken ,on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and shows the pawl and ratchet engaging feature of the device.

Fig. l is a front elevation of the pawl and atqh t ea p r n of h device sh wn apartial section in Fig. 3.

Referring now to thedrawlnga particularly Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, it will be noted a hoist has been designated generally by the reference character l0. Said hoist may ,be uspended from a wheeled carriage H having horizontally spaced wheels or rollers {2 thereon and adapted for longitudina1 movement within a tube-like track !3, in turn, supported from a building struc. ture in any suitable manner. The tube-like track 13 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 14 which provides clearance for a hook or stirrup IS, in turn, securely connected to the marriage III. .A r-ball-vsha'ped ibEfiflkEtlike strap or support :Hi-rls connected by means of a swivel bolt .l l-andiholding nut l8 to-thestirrup Or hook 1-5 .and is -.'thereby rotatably suspended therefrom.

The bracket (l6 is-adapted to support -a unitary sheave and :winding :reel .or. drum indicated generallyby the numeral l9. This assembly which, preferably, is integrally fa'sh'ioned includes a sheave 20 and a winding real or -drumr2 l :extending laterally from one face thereof. The outer peripherial rim of the sheave is fashioned to :provide a v-shaped groove or track 22-adapted to receive a flexible endless member such as the belt The drum or winding reel 21 is generally cylindrical in shape and is provided with a flange "2-4 on the outboard or free .end thereof. Ehe sheave and drum assembly 19 has a transversely extending opening through the center thereof which is arranged to receive a flanged sleeve bearing member 25 that "is rotatably supported on a shaft 26, in turn, supported at its opposite ends in the spaced apart arms of the bracket It so that said assembly will be free to rotate in a horizontal axis about said shaft.

A flexible element 21, which -may be in the form of a chain, wire cable, or rope, has one end {thereof connected, by some suitable means such asthe stud bolt 28,-to the winding drum or reel 24, while the opposite end of said element is connected to a grapple or hook 29 having arms may be hooked underneath the outwardly projecting handles of the transport-type milk can or other article to be lifted. The sheave and drum assembly 49 may be retated to wind the flexible cable member 21 on the drum 2| by means of manual pressure applied to the endless =belt'2'3. Said belt is fashioned, preferably, with a tubular cross section utilizing aplastic-tubing-or extruded rubber hose and may-beprovided with a loopportion S-l which extends within easy reach of an operator. As best shown in Figs. '1 and? it will be noted said endless belt has a portion thereof that is continually in functional engagement within the v-shaped groove '22; hencea-ny downward pull on the flexible belt '23 will cause rotation of the sheave 2a and its associated drum 2l.

A horizontally extending strapalike belt guard 32, which may be afiixed by any suitable means to the supporting bracket 16, is arranged to ex tend forwardly and rearward'ly from said bracket while the forward and rearward edges of said strap are inwardly turned, as shown at 33, and adapted to provide guides or guards for the belt 23 and thus facilitate retaining said belt in the V-groove 22 of the sheave.

Afiixed to the inner face of the sheave 2B is a layer of friction facing material 34. Said material may be affixed thereto by any suitable means, but as illustrated conventional countersunk rivets 35 are used for the purpose. Any of the well known clutch facing materials presently on the market may be employed for the facing proposed herein.

A ratchet gear 36 is positioned on the shaft 26 by means of a flanged bearing sleeve member 31. Said sleeve is tightly fitted into a transverse opening in said gear and thereafter rotatably disposed on said shaft so that said gear is free to rotate about the horizontal axis of the shaft in much the same manner as that of the sheave and drum assembly l9. One vertical face of said gear is finished, as by machining or the like, to provide a smooth plane surface 38 that is normal to the axis of the shaft 26 and this surface is arranged to frictionally engage the friction facing 34, on the sheave 29, for braking purposes as will presently be explained. Positioned in abutting relationship against the outer surface of the flange of said sleeve bearing 37 is a resilient member which, as illustrated, may be in the form of a coil spring 39 the opposite end of which abuts a flanged end of a sleeve bearing member All rotatably and slidably disposed in one arm of the supporting bracket !5. A spring washer may, if desired, be used in place of said coil spring 39. A stud bolt 4|, having a retaining washer or spacer 42 therearound that abuts one end of the sleeve bearing 40, is adapted to be threadably received in one end of the shaft 26 so as to provide a simple means for increasing and decreasing the reactive force component of said coil spring 39. By varying the pressure of this spring it will be appreciated that the frictional engaging resistance between the smooth surface 35, of gear 36, and the facing material 34, of the sheave 20, may be modified or varied as desired.

The ratchet gear 36 is also arranged so that the teeth disposed around the periphery thereof engage a pawl 44 that is loosely positioned, by means of a bolt 5 and nut'dfi, between a bracket arm at and one leg of the support It. Said bracket arm 41 is supported, in turn, by suitable means such as the rivets 48 on one leg of said supporting bracket I6. A spring member d9 wraps around the bolt 45 and over the top of the pawl 4 and, as so arranged, serves to constantly urge or maintain said pawl into engaging relation with at least one of the teeth of the ratchet gear 36, as best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

lhe opposite end of shaft 26 is provided with a threaded and reduced end section 56 over which a nut 5! may be threaded to fixedly position said shaft in one arm of the support bracket IS. A flange 52 on end end of the sleeve bearing 25 may function asa space washer to provide clearance between the flanged end 24 of said drum and the proximate arm of the support bracket I6.

Normally the spring 39 urges the pawl 44 into locking relation with the teeth of ratchet gear 35, hence the device is usually locked or stabilized in the position 'last assumed by the drum and said associated gear member. 7

To operate the device the arms 30, of the grapple hook 29, are placed in position underneath the handles of a transport-type milk can, or similar article to be lifted, andthen a downward force or pull is exerted on the right hand side,

as viewed in Fig. 2, of the endless belt 23. Such force will effect rotation of the sheave and drum assembly [9 and cause the chain 21 to wind around the drum 2| thus lifting the grapple hook 29 and any article fastened thereto. Since the axially disposed coil spring 39 constantly urges the smooth face 38, of ratchet gear 35, into frictional engagement with the friction facing material 34, on the sheave 20, it will be appreciated that said gear and sheave will then rotate as a unit in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 2. As the ratchet gear 36 rotates the pawl it overrides the teeth thereof, but as soon as the applied force is removed from the belt 23 the weight of the load will tend to rotate the drum in the opposite direction, whereupon the pawl as urged by the spring 49 falls into abutting relation with the radial portion of one of the teeth in said gear and locks the device against rotation of the drum in the opposite or counterclockwise direction. The device as thus locked will remain indefinitely in such position and the hoist may then be moved about from place to place by means of the wheeled carriage I! and track l3.

When it is desired to lower the milk can, or any other article secured to grapple hook 29, the sheave 20 is rotated counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. 2, by exerting a downward pull on the left hand side of the endless belt 23. Since the pawl 44 prevents the ratchet gear 36 from rotating in a counterclockwise direction there will be no rotation of the sheave until the force exerted on the belt is sufficient to overcome the frictional engaging resistance established between the surface 38 of said gear and the friction facing material 34 of said sheave. When this force is adequate there will be sufficient slippage of the braking device to permit the drum to unwind and lower the load. As soon as such external force is removed from the belt, however, the rotation of the drum ceases and the vertical position of the load will remain stationary until such force is again applied.

The coil spring 39 may be pre-stressed, as desired, either to compensate for wear of the facing material 34 or to permit different loads to be handled by the device, by merely turning the adjusting bolt 4! so as to increase or decrease the compressive force of said spring.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that a highly effective and greatly simplified hand hoist has been provided. The proposed device is inexpensive to fabricate and will require a minimum of maintenance. Furthermore, the device as so arranged always provides positive control by the operator over the lifting and lowering of articles being handled and there is no so-called free or uncontrolled travel of the load.

Although only a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated and described it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hand hoist comprising, in combination: a support; a shaft mounted within said support; a sheave mounted on said shaft for rotation within said support; said sheave being fashioned with a central vertical web member having opposite faces thereon, and a peripherally extending rim therearound providing a track; a winding drum extending laterally from one face of said sheave web; a flexible hoist element connected to said drum and adapted for winding about said drum during rotation of said sheave: said hoisting element extending outwardly from said drum for connection to an article to be hoisted; a friction disc mounted on the face of said web opposite that from which said drum extends; pawl and ratchet gear means mounted adjacent said sheave; said gear being adapted for rotation about said shaft, and for axial movement therealong; said ratchet gear being further arranged so that one vertical face thereof engages said friction disc; resilient means for urging the face of said gear into engagement with said disc; and means for rotating said sheave including a flexible endless belt having a portion in continual frictional engagement with said track and a portion extending below said sheave within reach of an operator.

2. The structure described in claim 1, wherein the resilient means includes an axially arranged coil spring disposed between the ratchet gear and one arm of the support.

3. The structure described in claim 2, further characterized by having said resilient means axially adjustable.

4. A hand hoist comprising, in combination: a support having a pair of spaced arms; a shaft having opposite ends thereof mounted in the arms of said support; a sheave mounted on said shaft for rotation within said support; said sheave having a vertical web member with opposite faces thereon, and a peripherally extending rim therearound providing a substantially V-shaped groove; a winding drum extending laterally from one face of said sheave Web; a flexible hoist element connected to said drum and adapted for winding about said drum during rotation of said sheave; said hoisting element extending outwardly from said drum for connection to an article to be hoisted; a friction disc afiixed to the face of said sheave web opposite that from which said drum extends; a ratchet gear rotatably mounted on said shaft and disposed adjacent said friction disc; pawl retaining means mounted on said support, and including a first resilient member for urging said pawl into engagement with said ratchet gear for restricting rotation of said gear to only one direction about said shaft; said ratchet gear being further disposed for axial movement along said shaft, and arranged so that a vertical face thereof frictionally engages said friction disc; means for axially urging said ratchet gear along said shaft including a second resilient member that is concentrically disposed with respect to said shaft, and an abutting memher for receiving in abutting relation one end of said second resilient member; said abutting member being slidably positioned over one end of said shaft and additionally slidably disposed within one arm of said support; and means for rotating said sheave including a flexible endless belt having a portion in continual frictional engagement with said V-shaped groove and a portion extending below said sheave within reach of an operator.

5. The structure described in claim 8, further characterized by having means cooperative with one end of the shaft for axially moving the abutting member therealong.

6. The structure described in claim 9, wherein the cooperative means includes an axially disposed member threadably mounted in a threaded recess in the center of the shaft, and having an enlarged head extending beyond the end of the shaft for engaging one end of the abutting member.

JOHN J. VODA.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1907 Number 

